Embers of the Past
by A Random Role Player
Summary: This story is a little introduction to my character Flint Stoener, where he reflects on what he has done in the past. He wishes to change things within himself, but fears that it might be too late to make things right. Just who is he and what has he done? (This is a one-shot story, but it doesn't involve any canon characters. I plan on using him more in the near future.)


**Hey guys, A Random Role Player here! This short story is meant to be like a small introduction of my OC Flint, a character I plan on using in the near future for my RWBY story. I was hoping to write something that could possibly be like a trailer similar to the ones the RWBY team each individually had before the show started, which gave a look into their personal lives or the fights that they had, all while adding its own feel to it. Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

A young teenage boy sighed to himself as he sat down against the trunk of a lifeless tree gone grey, observing the area with his orange eyes, with a yellow outline. He looked upon the desolate scenery with a saddened expression—it all seemed dead. There was no grass, only hard and jagged dirt and earth, and there were a couple of trees here and there, but none of them had any leaves. Several of them were black from the ashes of an enormous fire that had destroyed the entire area not too long ago. It was quite a shame, since he had always roamed around there for solitude and reflecting upon himself. But now, just like many other things in his life, he lost the healthy bond he had with it, and he felt responsible for it. Even though he wasn't there when the fire happened, his semblance was fire, burning everything that touched him in order to protect himself. Wouldn't be the first time something like this happened.

He finally stood up, revealing his build to be slim but well toned and his height tall. His bright skin from his pale complexion seemed to almost glow in a place without light, as the sun started to set, which made the rays of light as bright as possible before the darkness of night would come. However, it was possible that the grey clouds of the sky would engulf the cloud before the night did. The soft but chilling wind flew by, causing his brown messy hair to sway with the flow. It wasn't too cold for him, since his brown T-shirt and his blue jeans seemed to at least preserve some heat. He could stay here for a little longer before heading back home, before his peaceful solitude would slowly creep into a depressing loneliness, a new emotion that accompanied the destroyed nature in this place. The only thing that accompanied him now was the hollow trunk of the tree that he rested against, and his two swords held inside of their charcoal black sheathes, laying on the ground by his side, each of them having a red, yellow, and green switch on them.

Just as he was about to leave and head his way back home, he saw a faint silhouette from afar. As he got close, it was to his dismay that he realized who it was: it was Amaranth Marigold. A shadow of his past.

She was a young but well-developed teenager, roughly about Flint's age. She had a bolder fashion than Flint did for sure; rather than wear normal and plain clothes, she made her appearance stand out. She wore a shirt with a bright orange circle in the center, the color growing darker outwards until it reached a bloody shade of orange, with a midnight black leather jacket that complimented the T-shirt. To add onto her feistiness, she wore dark blue jeans that were ripped at the knees (and at a few other sides of her legs) as well as leather boots that reached about three inches higher than her ankle, with a zipper on the side. Her fiery red hair flew from the breeze as she walked towards him with a feminine posture, one hand on her hip as her hourglass figure swayed side to side with each step. She, too, had a pale complexion, but also maintained a tan that made her slightly darker than him. And what's more, she had ears that were striped with orange and black fur, and her tail matched the same pattern (clear signs that she was a tiger Faunus). There was a charm to her, but it did not distract Flint from the malice hidden in the gaze of her emerald green eyes that once shone so brightly but were now icy and dull.

She walked up to him until she stood about thirty yards from him. Flint just nodded to himself, not bothering to look up at her once more as he kept one knee close to him while letting the other leg extend. He felt an overwhelming guilt heavy on his chest to the point where he believed that he physically couldn't get up. There was a brief moment of silence between the two, the intensity growing in the atmosphere, before Amaranth spoke up in a soft alto voice. "Aren't you going to at least look at me?"

Not moving one muscle, Flint responded with a slightly stern tone, his range being that of a low baritone. "You told me not to come to you or talk to you ever again. I kept the promise. Why did you come looking for me?" Both of them knew very well that he would often come to this place, back when it was lush and full of life. He always rested under the shade of the trees, allowing the tranquil atmosphere to calm him down. But now, that part of his life was destroyed and left something dead within him, just like his relationship with the girl that stood before him. He loved her just as much as she loved him, and their bond strengthened their friendship as time went by. Unfortunately, he ruined it all. All of the clinginess, the rude remarks, the arguments; everyday, good and bad memories of her and what they had haunted him, and now that very ghost was right in front of him.

Amaranth let out an empty chuckle, looking down upon him. "To teach you a lesson."

"Amaranth, you told me yourself that you wanted nothing to do with me. You just wanted me to stay away from you." There was a hint of sadness in his voice, but he did his best to keep his composure, still not looking at her nor standing up.

"Guess I changed my mind, then." She pulled out two daggers, twirling them around a bit before getting a grasp on the handles, pointing them at his direction as she took a stand.

Finally, Flint made a movement, but he still did not look at her. He looked up to the sky, where everything grew darker. The clouds had completely covered the sun now, which illuminated some of the clouds, but not enough to shine very brightly. "It's about to rain. Let's both just go back to our homes. I don't want to fight you."

She narrowed her eyes, focusing on what she viewed now as nothing but her prey. "Too bad."

Flint let out a sigh as he got up, drawing out his black swords from their sheathes. However, he just stood there, looking at her with what seemed to be a sad smile. It was clear that he still didn't want to fight, let alone go for the first strike.

Amaranth couldn't help but sneer a bit at the gesture. "Funny, you never hesitated in getting into an argument or fight before. Don't know why you would now." She then let out a shout as she charged at him, rushing fast and hard. Reversing her grip on both of her daggers, she attempted several strikes at him, slashing three or four times and then spinning around once to keep the momentum going. Flint, thinking fast, dodged each and every attack at him, yet still didn't try to go for a counter. She saw this as an opportunity and went for a roundhouse kick, hitting him hard in the side of the head. Knocking him off balance, she barraged with more slashes, draining his aura as she furiously sliced away. Finishing off her rush combo, she thrust both daggers into him, which would have dug into him if it were not for his aura once again, and kicked from his torso, launching herself in the air and transiting into a somersault, landing on the ground perfectly.

The knockback and damage from the attack seemed to wake Flint up a bit, making him realize that he couldn't dodge every single attack. Still, he kept his ground, going on the defense once more. This seemed to annoy her, though, as she charged in once more, her eyes showing her rage against him. She went for an X-slash, but Flint was ready for her this time, as he parried with his right sword, swinging up with such force that her daggers flew from her hand, leaving her wide open in shock. He then flipped the yellow switch on both of his swords, using the Earth element Dust to greatly increase his strike power. As a result, when he went for a forward thrust with his left sword, it left a huge impact as it knocked her back a considerable distance a little above the ground. He then immediately flipped the green switch on, activating the Wind Dust within his swords. Pointing them away from him and tilting them towards the ground, a large wind gust shot from the blades, propelling him and closing him in to Amaranth. Zooming past her, he stopped a little ahead of her, so that he would meet up with her and slash straight across her when he was close enough.

After the sudden and devastating attack he unleashed, she tumbled onto the ground, but managed to get into a position where she used both her feet and one hand to plant on the ground, using friction to halt her movement. Her emerald green eyes were now explosive with range as she bared her fangs at him. She was now enraged in this heat of battle!

As she lowered her ears and lashed her tail out in an aggressive manner, she pulled out a handle and then swung it outwards, revealing her weapon to be a mechanical whip that extended for several feet from her, flowing in a graceful manner. She then jumped up and twirled around the whip spiraling around her before she landed on the floor and slammed her arm down, the whip suddenly switching from graceful movements to a violent swat, piercing the air with a loud _snap_! Flint was almost taken by surprise, but he managed to dodge just in time, letting the whip hit the earth with so much force that chunks of the ground flew up from the impact.

Not losing any time, Flint dashed towards Amaranth, ready for another attack. As he was on his way, however, Amaranth had twirled around once more, causing the whip to wrap around him, carry him up into the air as she brought it over her head, then slamming him hard to the ground, the force causing him to lose his swords as they flew off into the air, far from his reach. Amaranth retracted her whip, taking her time to observe her now beaten-up enemy. However, a couple of seconds in, Flint (although he was covered in scratches, dust, and without weapons) got up, showing that he was far from defeated. Straightening his posture, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and clenched his fists. The moment he opened his eyes, there was a fierce burning within his bright orange eyes, a desire to fight that didn't exist before. He let his aura burst with a bright yellow color, which enveloped him, morphing to a visible and tangible fire around his body made of pure aura. "I didn't want to use my semblance, but you've left me no choice."

Amaranth just gave him another cold glare, one that could possibly counteract the heat radiating off of him. "Choice? You didn't give me a choice. All those times we were together, you made me always have to talk with you, to go where _you_ wanted to go, to do the things _you_ wanted to do!" At that moment, thunder shook the dark sky, a clear sign that rain would be coming soon. But Amaranth didn't care. The only thing that went through her mind at that moment was the memories of the past, the pain of old wounds reopened, never getting the chance to heal properly.

* * *

 _"I'm sorry, Flint. I can't go out today, I need to study for the exam tomorrow."_

 _Amaranth had been texting Flint on a daily basis, which was natural since they were in a relationship together. Usually, he would always be the first to respond, and whenever she was busy or forgot to reply, he would occasionally send another message to her to just check up on her. Some people would find it mildly irritating and clingy, but she honestly didn't mind, since she honestly found it adorable about him. However, she noticed that he started to pick up on some more habits as well, frequently apologizing, sounding a little passive-aggressive at times, pushing aside his other priorities for her. It started to get her attention and concerned her a bit._

 _She set her scroll down beside her and started to write on her notebook, taking down notes for the key points of the chapter she read on history. She was laying down on the bed with her stomach, wearing some comfortable grey underclothes, nothing too flattering. Her legs kicked a little in the air, as most girls did when they were calling or doing something on their beds. She was tempted to mute or even turn off her scroll so he wouldn't bother her from her studying, but she knew he would cause a fuss later on if she left without saying. Sighing to herself, she studied as much as she could before she received her message._

 _"We almost never have time outside of school anymore to hang out. Almost every time I ask you, you say you're busy."_

 _Even though her grades were more important to herself, she couldn't help but feel guilty about all of it. Maybe she did need to spend time with him. And maybe then, he would stop asking her every single day about it._

 _"Alright, fine. We can meet at the forest we always hang out in about an hour. Then we can talk about what to do when we get there."_

 _She was really hoping to study today since she did not have much time, but she felt obliged to give him some time. Besides, she didn't mind when they hung out, it was always a nice refresher. She just hoped that it wouldn't come back to bite her in the butt the next day._

* * *

 _"Flint, what are you doing!?"_

 _Amaranth fidgeted from Flint's touch, who had wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. He had reached under her shirt and rubbed her belly in slow circular movements, his soft touch causing her to shiver a little from the sensation. She tensed up a bit, her ears perked up and her tail straightened out. She couldn't believe that he was doing this to her so suddenly, with no warning. She knew he was getting a little aggressive recently, but she never imagined it like this. She was starting to become afraid of what he would do next._

 _"We've been together for quite a while now, haven't we? I'm ready to take things to the next step," he answered in a sultry voice. He then started to reach his hands up higher, going to the side in order to massage her hips, taking his time to feel his way around her. She bit her lip, trying to contain herself. This didn't feel right._

 _She spoke up rather quickly, not wanting to entertain the thought of what would happen next. "Please, don't." Reluctantly, Flint's hands stopped moving, and he then freed her from his grasp, looking disappointed...and perhaps regretful. Amaranth quickly turned around to face him, taking a step back from him. "What is wrong with you!?" she asked out of rage and shock. "What made you think it was a good idea to just do something like that without asking?"_

 _"I'm sorry." He let out a soft sigh to himself, realizing too late that he had messed up. "I...I got desperate, and-"_

 _Amaranth gave him a look of disbelief before softly scoffing to herself. "Desperate? I know that we haven't been able to spend much time recently, but you of all people are more than able to deal with that. That is a lame excuse! To just do that without thinking..." A thought appeared in her mind, making her shake her head and have gave her the look of someone who was just betrayed. "You've been very daring with your words and now your actions. Are you using me for my body?"_

 _Flint's eyes opened wide, his face grown pale from the can of worms he just opened up. "No, Amaranth! That wouldn't be fair to you, to all we've been through."_

 _She extended her arms out and stretched out her palms, deciding she had enough. "I wanna believe you, but...lately, you've been showing otherwise. I just...I need space. We'll talk some other day, I gotta go."_

 _Amaranth walked away from him, not wanting to look back at him. Right now, she needed time to herself, to reflect on everything that happened, and even on what she was allowing in their relationship. Flint just stood there, rubbing his hand against his forehead, fretting about the endless possibilities about what she was thinking about him, and the bad things that would result in it._

* * *

"You took advantage of me so many times. The words you said to me, making me feel guilty for not being with you. The way you acted, so desperate3ly and needy. Even what you did..." Just thinking about those memories among so many others was enough to enrage her. Her icy cold eyes burned brightly now with a ferocity and a desire to harm. "It's sickening!"

Flint just pursed his lips inwards out of grimace and regret. Even he had a hard time letting go of the past himself. "What I did was wrong, and I take full responsibility of that. But you told me before that you wanted nothing to do with me, but you didn't hate me. Why, after all this time, did you go after me now? I've changed, I'm not that kind of person anymore!"

She slowly walked up to him, swatting away from her to loosen her mechanical whip once more. "So have I. You've shown me some things, Flint. Some certain truths. About the humans. You told me that you were different, that you loved me for me. But your actions showed otherwise. You continuously proved to me, as many others have, that you, that they don't care about me. They see me as an object, something subhuman. So now, I'm gonna show you some things as well. Show you what happens when you mess with me."

"No..." The expression on Flint's face almost made him look like he was begging. "No, where did you get this violent attitude? You're not with the White Fang, are you?"

"They're a bunch of radicals. I don't care about the 'greater good for the Faunus.' So no, I'm not. But I do agree with them on one thing: humans only react to violence. They'll only respect you, fear you, see you as equal if you fight back!"

She then let out a fierce shout as she moved her whip to come swiping at him. Thinking fast, he jumped up high, his semblance still burning around him. Seeing that her attack missed, Amaranth arched her arm back and then propelled it forward in a quick snap, pinpointing his exact location. However, Flint decided to face the weapon head on as he focused his aura into his fist, releasing a powerful punch against the end of the whip. He concentrated so much energy that the whip ripped out of his opponent's hands, flying away from the both of them.

Amaranth, having no weapons left, unsheathed her claws and let her fangs stick out, letting out a loud deafening roar that would make the strongest warrior's blood freeze. She then ran with all of her might as she charged against her foe, who had just landed on the ground safely. Letting her rage consume her, she slashed away, wanting to tear through his flesh and make him bleed. Flint, on the other hand, kept his calm as he dodged the attacks, then grabbing one of her hands and punching her in the gut hard with his other hand. She let out a grunting cough, the attack almost knocking some wind from her. The attack left her vulnerable, allowing Flint to punch her rapidly all over, his movements almost a blur from the insane speed of his attacks, before finishing his rush combo with a roundhouse kick to the head, which knocked her down.

Despite the damage, the attacks seemed to make her grow wilder and more ruthless. She got up in an instant, letting out more yells as her attacks came quicker and more ferociously than before. Still, he managed to dodge these attacks without too much concern and even land a hard punch to the face, knocking her back a bit. She kept standing, but it only gave him an opportunity to continue as he continued into an uppercut, the flames and the punch causing her to take a couple of steps back to regain balance.

"Please, let's stop this!" Even with the upper hand, he didn't want this to continue. "I don't want to hurt you anymore!"

Holding a hand to her face, she just growled, completely fed up with him. "That's all you do, you just hurt people! You start off as their friends, and when they're finally close enough to them, you just hurt them. Even your semblance shows it, you burn anyone that touches you!"

"Amaranth, snap out of it! There's no need to fight. Go home, this doesn't have to continue."

The tiger Faunus just lowered her hands, which were starting to tremble at this point. "Go to hell!" With that declaration, she pounced on him, putting in all of her hatred towards him in this one attack. Flint jumped up at her, putting as much energy as he could into one final attack. He moved his arm back and them pumped it forward in one last punch, hitting her in the side of her face and completely messing up her attack. The force of it launched her back several yards, leaving her too exhausted to fend for herself. She tumbled on the hard ground, as if she were unconscious. After seconds of just rolling in the dirt, a red static energy surrounded her body and then shattered, indicating that her aura was depleted. The battle was over.

Flint let out a sigh, feeling a little exhausted himself. A great sadness filled him as he looked up at the sky, seeing that there was nothing but darkness. He even saw a few raindrops come down, realizing that it was about to rain. His semblance deactivated from lack of energy. He walked towards the weakened Amaranth on the floor, just shaking his head in grief and sadness.

"Ama...you need to learn to forgive. We don't have to be friends. But this can't go on. The White Fang is getting into your head. This isn't you. So please...stop this madness."

Amaranth just barely moved, only able to move her head. She just gave him a snarl of defiance. "I _hate_ you."

Knowing that she would not be convinced otherwise, he just turned away from her and walked. This was all his fault, and now he couldn't fix it. He let his own desires get into his way, and it cost him the love of his life, his closest friend. He turned her into this bitter monster that she had become. He did this.

There was no going back now. So he just kept walking forward, not looking back. He closed his eyes, letting the image of him and her holding hands as they leaned against the tall trees of the lush forest that once was but now would never be again. He took in a deep breath, letting the memory fade away, like so many others.

He opened his eyes. He felt a drop of water roll down his cheek. Was it his own? Or was it just the rain?


End file.
